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Hawaii senate passes gay marriage bill

Gov. Neil Abercrombie, who called lawmakers to a special session for the bill and has vocally supported gay marriage, has said he would sign the measure. It will allow thousands of gay couples living in Hawaii and even more tourists to marry in the state starting Dec. 2.

Senators passed the bill 19-4 with two lawmakers excused. Cheers erupted inside and outside the gallery when the vote was taken, with a smattering of boos. Senate President Donna Mercado Kim, who voted against the bill, banged her gavel and told members of the public to quiet down.

More than half the chamber's lawmakers spoke in support of the bill, with many urging the public to come together to heal divisions within the community.

"This is nothing more than the expansion of aloha in Hawaii," said Sen. J. Kalani English, a Democrat from Maui.

Chalk another up for the good guys. 2013 is definitely not a good time to be a bigot in America!

Re: Hawaii senate passes gay marriage bill

Good news! I was over there about a week and a half ago, you should have heard the anti adverts on the radio! Basically, they said that gay marriage would ruin the families, make people unhappy, and destroy ohana.

I'm hetero, and it amazes me how this issue really bothers some people. Two people getting married, same sex or different, has zero effect on anyone, it is just a sanctioned agreement. If you think it hurts your faith...well, maybe your faith is pretty brittle (and wrong).

"In my opinion, if we’re going to fight the War on Terror, a good place to start would be our country’s haunted houses." - Norm MacDonald

Re: Hawaii senate passes gay marriage bill

Lulz at one of the first comments after that story.

With 90% of Hawaii residences testified against the bill, Yet the bill still get passed. This is the power of money: "boost tourism by $217 million ", "with couples spending $166 million " Does the governor really represent the people? or Money?

Re: Hawaii senate passes gay marriage bill

Originally Posted by Cardinal

Lulz at one of the first comments after that story.

The guy writing that comment is an idiot. First of all, 90% of the million people in Hawaii couldn't possibly have testified against the bill. Second, it the most recent polling prior to the senate vote, Hawaii citizens were evenly divided 44% for/44% against, with 12% undecided.

Re: Hawaii senate passes gay marriage bill

Originally Posted by disneydude

The guy writing that comment is an idiot. First of all, 90% of the million people in Hawaii couldn't possibly have testified against the bill. Second, it the most recent polling prior to the senate vote, Hawaii citizens were evenly divided 44% for/44% against, with 12% undecided.

Are you honestly going to let yourself be trolled by somebody on a completely different website?